Shadow Tag
by Ellis-The-Great
Summary: Touko decides she wants a new beginning, and travels in order to find it. It starts off fine, but when someone from the past shows up, she's torn between what she used to want, what she wants now, and having her own personal life.
1. Chapter 1: Soft Reset

"Ah, Touko, just in time. I've already collected some starters for you. Three from Kanto, and three from our lovely Kalos region. Would you like to take a look?"

"No, Sycamore, not quite yet. I'd like to take a little more time with my own Pokemon, just a few last farewells before I go on another adventure."

It had been two years, three years, three very long years since Touko had started her first journey in the Unova region. Since then, she'd conquered all foes who stood in her way as champion, and after spending what felt like an eternity of boredom with random challengers- or at least, the few who dared face the wrath of her Samurott- she'd decided she wanted to start again, in a new region. Without much more word to Sycamore, she turned her back to him and left his office, in order to step outside with her six-Pokemon team. The rest of the Pokemon she had, she'd already given up to trainers who she deemed worthy- and more in need of her Pokemon than she.

Her Pokemon seemed so happy to see her. This was the first she'd released all of them at once, something that used to be a common occurrence. Before she could get too caught up in reminiscing, she remembered what she was doing here. This was not goodbye- she promised herself that much. For some reason it didn't make parting any easier.

On the very streets of Lumiose, she explained to her Pokemon, her friends, her partners what she planned on doing. Most understood her very well by now. Krookodile, or as she often called him, Clyde, still sort of snickered at her whenever she was trying to be serious. Her Swoobat—which she promised to only call Sweety in private –made a sad face, but once she had made the same old silly face she made since Sweety was small, happiness relit in her eyes. Flower, or rather, Liligant, gave a curt nod and a smile, while Cofagrigus, Samurott, and Zebstrika all seemed to have seen this coming. She explained to them what she wanted them to do. Sycamore agreed to give her two free starters and an updated (or, well, downgraded) pokedex, but only if she asked her Pokemon to stay with him. He wanted research done on the effects of growing to such a high level, and if Pokemon in the other regions reacted the same to becoming powerful as they did in this region. It was a difficult choice, one she spent a lot of time and effort on. Even if her Pokemon declined, which she knew would not be the case, she could still visit Kalos. She was hopeful for a positive reaction, however.

One by one, all the Pokemon agreed. All, that is, besides Pascal. Samurott always was quite the fighter. As if she knew the language of her Pokemon, Touko knew exactly what it is Samurott had wanted to do, and where he had wanted to go.

"Are you sure, Pascal? If you stay in the region, I'll at least be able to visit . . . is there no convincing you?" she asked, maybe even pleaded, with her long-time friend. It was to no avail, he was as stubborn as she was, and probably always would be. She laughed away any sarcastic remarks she had in store. She'd respect him just as much as he always respected her.

It didn't take long to travel back to Sycamore's office. With one swift phone call, Samurott was on his way back to live in Unova, at home, with Touko's mom. He was happier there, and she knew it, but she'd miss him terribly. She guessed, after the fact, that it was where he belonged. It didn't change how much she'd always love her little Pascal, whether he was a tiny Oshawott, or the big, fearsome Samurott that all of Unova had come to know, love, and piss themselves at the sight of.

"Sycamore, two starters, please!" Touko's tune was much cheerier than she'd thought it'd be, feeling like she'd lost a limb mere moments ago, but she did have to admit how excited she was for her new journey.

"Right, right, well . . . it's customary for me to make you pick from our own list of starters, first. Would you like a Froakie, since water seems to be your usual choice?" as he spoke, Sycamore released three Pokemon before her. To her surprise, not all were male, like they were in her last selection. It was a male Froakie, a female Fennekin, and another male Chespin. Just by looking at them she could see each had a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, but the female starter had stuck out to her.

"Ah, I think I'd rather go with fire this time. Never having a fire type to help me out last time got me stuck quite a few times, more than I'd like to admit!" she said with a laugh, and remembered a run-in with a Klingklang or two. She silently swore to herself to never return to Chargestone cave again, and with that, reached her hand out toward her new partner.

With a tiny bark-sounding cry, she could already tell her and Fennekin would be fast friends.

"I'll call you . . . Lucina."

"Don't get too excited yet, you've another partner to pick, if I remember correctly."

Just as quickly as the first, Touko was faced with another difficult choice. Sycamore was rambling something off about water Pokemon, but Touko wasn't quite listening. He was cute and all, but after listening to the ramblings of Professor Juniper for so long, she naturally tuned long-winded-science-mumbo-jumbo out.

Before long, she remembered something from her previous journey. Something that won her that first gym badge. A kind woman, not too much older than herself when she thought about it, told her something to the tune of, 'You need a Pokemon that is strong against what your team is weak against. Since you started with Oshawott... here! I want you to take care of this Pansear. Treat him nicely, and that first gym badge should be yours!'.

With a quick glance to her Fennekin, she knew which partner she wanted this time.

"I'll take the Bulbasaur, please." she spoke, and the tiny Pokemon looked almost as surprised as Sycamore did.

"Hm. No water type, pourquoi pas?"

"English, Professor Baguette."

"Aw, you don't like the french? Most girls get dreamy-eyed once I pull out a few words they don't understand . . ."

"Let it be forever written in any and all science novels you write from here on, Sycamore, that not all girls drool over a little bit of the language of love. Now, if you'd like to have a conversation, I'll be thinking up a name for my second new partner." Touko teased the older man, another shock he wasn't quite accustomed to, and without any more hesitation, she sat down to give her new Pokemon a better look.

"Touko, what I had said was . . . and I would have thought, from the obvious pattern . . . are you mad at Samurott for leaving you?"

A brief silence flooded the room. Touko gave a hurt look up towards Sycamore, and he instantly realized his mistake. Were her eyes filled with any more rage, he'd have mistaken her for a raging fire type, ready to singe his freshly-gelled hair.

"I—er, if you'd listened to the rest of what I'd said that wouldn't have come off so harshly—I was simply trying to come up with a reason why you would . . . Touko?"

"Professor, I feel as though leaving my Pokemon with someone so inconsiderate might be the wrong idea. You have one minute to prove to me otherwise," in the middle of her sentence she stood up, holing her unnamed Bulbasaur in her arms, while her Fennekin had taken perch on her shoulder.

In the next few moments, Touko had never heard a grown-man stutter quite the way Sycamore had been. He was much more of a dork than she'd given credit to, and it reminded her of a certain someone back home.

"Wait! Er, I, I just wanted to know if maybe you were mad at your Pokemon, since I was so expecting you to immediately choose a water type, I didn't think Fennekin w...

"I—er, if you'd listened to the rest of what I'd said that wouldn't have come off so harshly—I was simply trying to come up with a reason why you would . . . Touko?"

"Professor, I feel as though leaving my Pokemon with someone so inconsiderate might be the wrong idea. You have one minute to prove to me otherwise," in the middle of her sentence she stood up, holding her unnamed Bulbasaur in her arms, while her Fennekin had taken perch on her shoulder.

In the next few moments, Touko had never heard a grown-man stutter quite the way Sycamore had been. He was much more of a dork than she'd given credit to, and it reminded her of a certain someone back home.

"Wait! Er, I, I just wanted to know if maybe you were mad at your Pokemon, since I was so expecting you to immediately choose a water type, I didn't think Fennekin would have been your choice at all since your last team didn't even have a reliable fire type I-I could have sworn that at the very least you'd have gone with Squirtle since in a sort of way he resembles—Touko?"

By the time he's stopped ranting and being flustered, Touko had already began to ignore him again, and gone back to introducing herself to her new Pokemon. The bulbasaur, she had decided, had an interesting bud on his back—she ignored that his name had the word Bulb, because that name wasn't nearly as cute—and made the decision to name him Bud. Bud and Lucina hadn't ever met before now, but they were becoming fast friends. Touko had already found particular places in which both Pokemon enjoyed being pet, and since her old team still remained in the room, she seemed to have taken to introducing the new Pokemon, to the old.

Sycamore gave his well-known defeated shrug. He had planned to battle Touko with his own set of starters, just to test her strength, but he'd already known there was no reason to do so. A well-seasoned champion such as herself would take good care of the Pokemon that were formerly his, and he took a small pride into the fact that they'd be part of such an important team. He remembered for a few moments fond times in which he did little intricate tests on the bulbasaur—not lab-rattata style tests—but more-so psychological style tests. The Fennekin had undergone similar studies, but seemed to be much less cooperative. He didn't tell her how glad he was that Fennekin was the one she'd chosen. More than one had the tiny fox ruined an experiment or two of his—though if he thought too hard on it, it was always in good fun.

With little more to say to the professor, Touko said her very last goodbyes to her Pokemon, and to him, and set off on her journey. Or . . . rather, she would have, if she hadn't become utterly lost in a matter of minutes. This place was bigger than Castellia City! It had to be twice the size. Maybe three times the size. Four? She wondered idly at why there were so many Pokemon running about. She spotted, only to name a few, a sleeping goat-looking Pokemon that her pokedex named skidoo, a messy-haired cat called Espurr, and a Pokemon she thought she'd seen before, a marill. It took a very, very, very long time for Touko to even reach a place of interest.

Her place of interest, of course, was a very simple Pokemon center. There, she made sure to stock up on pokeballs, get directions, and assure herself that her Pokemon were fully healed and ready go to out on the road. It was shortly after that she'd (finally) arrived at an important milestone in Lumiose. A very obvious sign titled, 'Route 4', the direction she needed to go in order to get to Santalune. Her destination of choice.

It didn't take long for her to realize that Lucina had a preference of being outside of her pokeball, while Bud didn't care for being either in or out. As she walked, she had to continually remind herself to never, ever step on the small fire-type's tail. First impressions, as she knew with Pascal, were always difficult to rewrite. She tried hard to forget the time she'd tripped on the tiny Pokemon, sending them both down a ledge, thus also causing them to have to go through a particularly annoying patch of grass.

While fond memories stirred in her, she'd hardly realized how little attention she was paying to where she was going. She needed to focus on what was going on now, and a little less on what was going on then.

Once she'd finally gotten onto Route 4, the sights she was forced to take in astounded her. This place was huge! With maze-like gardens, and more flowers than she could make out, she almost began to feel a little overwhelmed. In Unova, she at least had an idea of what to expect, but Kalos? She'd hardly even read a pamphlet about the place.

Going back to such a standard level of training proved more difficult than Touko would have liked to admit. After what felt like hours of training on different colored flabebe for Bud, and a full list of grass Pokemon fell to Lucina's fire type moves. Once her Pokemon were tired out, or simply out of moves, she started for the exit.

Before she'd gotten too far, though, she came across another Pokemon. It was pink, and about the size of the two she'd already obtained. The pokedex named it Skitty, though she had a different name in mind. With only a few attacks it was weakened enough to capture, and with an expert toss, another member was added to her well-balanced team.

The newly named Whiskers was only half the level of the Pokemon she'd already had. It'd be a while of training before she decided to challenge the fast-approaching gym. She smiled brightly with her Pokemon, each and every step of the way. She really was right in going on this journey.

After she visited the Pokemon Center of Santalune, a shop she hadn't seen before caught her eye. A clothing shop? Her curiosity was soon to cost her much more than time alone. One hat she saw there in particular had interested her, a white and black cap with a tiny purple button. Memories gently flooded her mind, and she thought about frequent battles she had with N. How his green hair looked silly under his black and white hat. How when he was happy his voice was like that of a child's—the opposite being true when he was mad. How when he cried he looked down, and the cap to his hat covered his eyes . . . it was a few too many memories for Touko to manage at once.

"1,600 poke . . . not too bad of an impulse buy, is it, Bud?" she asked outside of the shop, before handing her Fennekin the small purple button. Bud smiles a seemingly-knowing smile, and Touko laughed with her three Pokemon. The group had grown close to each other quickly, something she was glad for, as it made things seem less lonely. Pokemon had always made her life less lonely, it seemed.

After more training—much, MUCH more training—she decided she was ready for the gym. With a fire type, any trainers who opposed her weren't half of a match for her snew Pokemon's trength. Viola seemed much less happy than she allowed to lead on once she was defeated, her bug Pokemon now faced with burns that would need immediate treatment. Once presented with a badge, she made short work of leaving Santanlune. Though it was a nice little town, she'd no interest in staying in one place for long. As a former champion, anyone who caught on to who exactly she was, and word would be spread throughout each and every town she went to. Trainers from across the globe would challenge her, something she simply did not want to experience. At least, not yet.

Lumiose was just as confusing as it was the first time she'd visited, but this time, in the midst of being lost, she did find another interesting shop. With her long and distinct hair, she was easily recognized. Another impulse decision was made, though this time she was smarter about it. She only allowed her hair to be cut enough to make her look different, not totally unrecognizable. If someone she knew were to see her, she'd be recognized. She'd have gone with a totally different hairstyle were it not for the fact she planned on visiting Sycamore eventually. Or, rather, her Pokemon. She didn't truly care for the professor's company. Though she had to admit, he was fun to look at.

She made quite short work of Route Five, and after being sure to catch a Pancham. Fighting types were supposedly very good for battle, and she decided he'd be essential to battle. She named him Twig, because of the tiny leaf he kept in his mouth.

Once in Campriher Town, she was told a long line of people were willing to battle on Route 6. Drawn by the want to train, she followed the path, defeating each trainer until she got to the castle that was at the end of the road.

Astounded by yet another one of the sights this place held, she traveled into almost every room and realm of the castle, until she found the large yard outside. As if by fate, the first thing she noticed was a small statue of a Pokemon she once owned. Zekrom, the dark dragon, stood half it's actual size before her. Her hands shook while she stared, and her small Pokemon showed their concern by nudging at her leg. She shook her head and turned away, not wanting to think much of her past ordeals. She decided she'd walk straight, and enjoy the rest of the sights this area had to offer.

It was then she saw a bright light in the shy, shining bright orange. A light she knew too well. A flash of white streaked over the sky above her head, and she knew exactly what had landed on the side opposite of the one she was leaving. With clenched fists, and a quick word to her Pokemon, she ran towards the sound, knowing only one thing could be here. One person.


	2. Chapter 2: Ebony and Ivory

As she ran, the realization that something bad could have happened to her former antagonist. Fear started to knot in her stomach as she ran, but it didn't slow her speed. In fact, she didn't stop running until she could see the head of the white dragon, Reshiram. After all this time, the sight of the Pokemon still gripped her with fear. She's been the enemy of this Pokemon. She's battled against this Pokemon. She won against this Pokemon. But that was when her and her team had fought against every foe imaginable. What now, with only four Pokemon at her side, and young ones at that? With that realization, she returned Fennekin safely to her pokeball, and continued to walk to the beast, no matter what the cost.

For a moment, a single solitary moment, she was relieved and overjoyed to see him standing there. Green hair, cold stare, and smoothed lips. The only thing that physically changed in him over a course of three years was the fact that he was taller. Seemingly darker as well, though she was jumping to conclusions.

"Touko," his voice was cold and flat, and when he said her name, his blue eyes met hers.

"I left for a reason, N. I don't want to fight!" her snap seemed to surprise him, because even though he had a rather large dragon behind him, it seemed he had a bit of fear for the younger girl.

"That's not why I came! I've told you I don't like fighting—"

"Then why would you come here? Why would you find me?" her eyes were dark and venom tinted her words.

"I wanted to talk to you! Did I do something wrong?" his dark demeanor changed to something more like how a kid should act. His eyes were round, but curious. In the undertone of fear, he seemed almost like he was giddy.

What was with him? Battle after severe battle, and now he's here and happy to see her? It not only made sense, but it alarmed her. Was he trying to trick her? She didn't trust him at all, especially not with a large, white dragon hovering over them both.

"How did you even find me?" her tone was accusative and harsh, and it didn't soften, even when he seemed to be hurt.

"It wasn't easy, of course. I checked all throughout Unova, and you were nowhere to be found. I didn't really have a way of asking around or anything, so I decided to check all of the regions. Have you ever been to Hoenn?" his innocence and childish showed like a trubbish in a group of roselia.

"No, what's it li—wait—no! That's not an answer, N. How did you know it was me? How did you get here?" each word she spoke came out dumber than the next.

"Oh come on! I figured it was obvious. Reshiram flew me anywhere I wanted, and once he found you, he landed. I'm almost as surprised as you are, if we're being honest. What did you do to your hair . . . and your hat . . . hey! You're copying me!" he exclaimed, and a few steps closer put him directly in front of Touko. When she looked up she saw just how much he towered over her, and even though she was quite short, he was well above average height.

After the initial shock of close contact faded, she shot an angry glare his way.

"My choice of style has nothing to do with you!"

"It's the same color and everything, though! Come on, let me see," as he spoke, he plucked the hat from her head, and held it up to his face to examine it. "Except for this ugly logo, of course."

"It's not ugly at all! It makes it look way better than yours!"

"Hey, at least I kept my hat." the more he teased her, the better he felt.

It wasn't the same for her, though. She was angry and on edge, and he didn't understand why.

"Why did you wait three years to want to talk to me?"

"Oh! Is that why you're upset? I'm sorry! I should have worked harder to find you" he paused a long time, then looked in her eyes "were you waiting for me?"

"No! No, no, a million times, no. This is just weird, I came here to have something new. I don't want the king of why I left stalking me!" her last statement struck N, and it was clear. He backed away from her, and for the first time, Touko felt bad.

"I went on a journey. I've been all around the world, looking for you. I met a lot more Pokemon . . . Pokemon who were happy, Touko. They're still suffering." his eyes were sad, and his tone changed into something dark and serious. More befitting of his actual age.

"I knew that was what this was about! I won't let you take any more Pokemon!" she snapped out of feeling bad, right back into being angry again.

"I know, Touko, I know. You love Pokemon, don't you? You told me you have a dream. You said you understand my logic."

"I do love Pokemon! They're my friends, too, N, but you would never listen to that!"

"I see. Then can I at least thank you?"

"No—wait. Thank me?" no one could ever confuse Touko the way N did.

"Thank you for stopping me."

"You're not making any sense . . ." she started, but she broke off and turned around.

After a few moments of walking away from him, she ran. She didn't even think he was following, but she wanted out of there. She thought she heard him call after her, 'Remember the ferris wheel'. She was going to go, very far away, away from any ferris wheels!She didn't want to see him again. She didn't want to be some sort of hero anymore. She wanted to be a normal girl, on her Pokemon adventure! She never, ever wanted to be the savior of all Pokemon. Just seeing him again was enough to jumble everything she felt.

Once she got far enough for her to think he couldn't find her, she stopped. She was somewhere in the palace, and there was a bed there. A small sighed escaped her. It took her no longer than four minutes to fall asleep, curled into the blankets.


	3. Chapter 3: Hidden Paradise

It felt like it'd been hours since Touko fell asleep, but now her mind was at least a little more clear. The first thing she noticed was that both her Fennekin and her Bulbasaur were out of their pokeballs. She didn't remember releasing them, but then again, in her sleepy daze she didn't remember much of anything she'd done beforehand.

It took a few moments to realize that there was a pokemon with the other two, one that was not hers. Upon rubbing her eyes and getting a good look, she saw that it was tiny, and black—or maybe just dark gray—with little red markings about it. Once the tiny creature noticed she was awake, it made a point to jump to her, so they were nose-to-nose.

"Well, you don't seem to want to fight, at least . . . what's this?" Touko made a bad habit of talking to pokemon she knew could never respond. Though it did help her notice things about them, like their reactions, or in this case, the small collar the pokemon had around it's neck.

Attached to it, in the front, was a tiny pokeball-shaped capsule, with a folded up paper inside. With careful movements, she removed the collar from the pokemon, just to make sure it would not protest. With much less care, she unfolded the paper to read it.

His handwriting was sloppy, yet he spoke pretty well on paper.

"Touko,

I know you're mad. I know you didn't want me to be here. But that does not change that I want to speak to you and become your friend. I want to know about your dream. Then I want you to help me realize mine. You have beaten me, but that does not have to make us enemies. I've accepted that you've beaten me, and that pokemon deserve to live with humans. I like to think, however, that you agree with me as well, that they should never be abused. I only want help trying to help those who need help. I will visit you again. I will find you again. But before I do, I will give you time to sort yourself out. Take Zoura. He will be a nice addition to your team.

-N."

Touko didn't know how to feel anymore. Part of her was enraged at herself, part of her felt like she should still be mad at him. Why, though? He was trying to be nice. He just . . . simply was not going about it in the right way. What now? She had no idea where to even go at this point, but she did know she had a new friend.

"I name you . . . Harmony. Sound good?" she asked, and the tiny Zoura yipped in approval. A sigh escaped her when she stood and began making her way out of Parfum Palace. Half out of content, and half out of irriation.

It took her a few times of traveling down the same hallway to navigate her way out, but once she had, she noticed something rather strange overhead. A large, orange figure flew in the sky, while the trainers she'd beaten hours before gaped at the creature, muttering under their breath things like, 'Look at that,' and 'Oooooh, pretty! Nothing like I've ever seen before!'. Touko sighed, and half-shouted to her persuer.

"If you're going to stalk me, you could at least make it a little less obvious!" and once she had, it was made clear the creature was traveling at a high speed, down to meet her. She only made a few strides in order to try and avoid it, before she was caught by the arms of the white dragon, who carried her off, leaving her pokemon behind. As she was flown, Touko could only scream and kick her legs, completely taken by surprise.

After a rather short ride, she was released. Soon after, she saw N's figure in what appeared to be . . . a tent? He was leaned against a large pokemon in which she'd never seen, and before she could question what could have possibly have been going on, her consciousness began to drift. She had been dragged through the sky for a bit too long, and it did a small toll on her mind; which decided now would be the time for a nap.

"Touko . . . it's well past time . . . you have to . . . it's been two hours . . . I need to talk to you," a voice rang in Touko's ears, and while she knew who it was, only little bits of information rang through.

"Just . . . five more minutes . . . please."

"Could you at least get off my arm then, please?"

"But you're so . . . warm. Like a . . . heater, kinda." Touko'd been mumbling a conversation in half-consciousness. She drifted like this, in and out, for what seemed to N to be like hour upon hour. It dawned on her eventually, though, and it did cause her to cause quite a stir.

She scrambled to get away from the man she was cuddling up to, but she only managed a half-roll away from him. It left not much more then three feet between them. She looked all around, distressed and confused as to where she was. First she saw the small yellow flowers. Then, a purple cat-like pokemon running through them, quite like the one she saw in Lumiose. Then, her gaze reverted to N and his Reshiram, curled in with his pokemon as well as her own. There was a gap where she had been, and N leaned somewhat slumped into the now unoccupied space.

"Finally awake, are we? I thought you were finally warming up to me. You even called me your heater!"

Touko cringed.

"Where have you taken me . . ." she murmered, trying to gather her surroundings.

"Well, I needed to talk to you aga-"

"Kidnapping someone is not a good way to start a conversation!"

"What? This isn't kidnapping! I just took you away from a place with so many people, and so many places you can refuse to talk to me in!"

"N, you know that isn't right."

"How else am I supposed to get you to look at me again?"

N's words made Touko pause. She shivered a little, looked down, looked back up, back down. For the first time she realized she wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"Why does it matter if I look at you?" her words were harsh, but yet, she still only looked at everything except his eyes. She had a habit of looking at his mouth when he talked. His arms. His hair. Anything but the eye contact.

"Because you looked at me before everything happened."

"So what?" she snapped, and crossed her arms around her chest.

"So, I want you back! I want to be friends with you. I want to know who you are when you aren't trying to tear apart my dreams, Touko!" he snapped right back at her, disrupting the tranquility of the area. Pokemon around them stirred, uncomfortable with the yelling.

N took notice of this almost immediately, and softened his angered tone. Touko saw it in the way his arm muscle relaxed.

"You're being ridiculous . . ."

"You're being stubborn. But if you still won't look at me, at least let me show you this place" he said with a small grunt as he stood, offering a hand to help her up. She refused it, and got up on her own.

"These pokemon . . . they come here once bad trainers have abused them, and when they're here, they have shelter and food, and no one can harm them because it's near impossible to find this place. I want you to—Touko?" Now, if you'd follow me . . ."

"What's over here?" she asked, and immediately went in the opposite direction. She touched the rim of what seemed to be a garbage can, but was surprised when it moved and attacked her. She reached for a pokeball, realizing quickly her own pokemon were half the level of this Garbodor, and promptly wince and waited for a brutal strike from the pokemon. It surprised her to hear N shout 'No' from a distance away, then something to the tune of 'Garbodor, she's the one we talked about, please!'

It surprised her more when she opened her eyes to see the smelly pokemon up close to her. It examined her, sniffed her even, and withdrew back into it's can.

"Now, if you'd kindly follow me . . ." N put emphasis on the word kindly, hoping she had new understanding of why she needed to follow the leader in this once instance.

"Oh! That pokemon . . . it's the big one from earlier, right?" as she asked, she glanced around her to see if she could spot it.

"Mhmm. I'm glad you remember. Snorlax was glad to finally have cuddle buddies. I usually leave pokemon to nap with him, but he never quite seems as happy as when a human cuddles up to him. I think I understand why, now. If I were a bit more selfish I'd have kept you to myself." he teased, but he noticed Touko was attempting to ignore him. A sigh escaped him, and for the first time, Touko looked up at him.

"Sucks having someone ignore you, doesn't it, my dear?" she said with a huge grin, and examined his face for a reaction. She was expecting anger, irritation, or down-right sadness, but instead he returned her smile. She furrowed her brow, and went back to avoiding eye contact. Her attention drifted to his hat, instead, which she noticed for the first time looked strikingly like the one she'd bought recently. His green hair stuck out of it differently now, it seemed, somewhat more neat, and it caused her to worry if her own hair was messy. She took off the hat she'd been wearing, and upon looking at it, she found that it did not look strikingly similar to the hat she'd recently bought.

"N! You switched our hats!"

"Oh, did I? Sucks to have someone take something you like." he said with a grin that resembled hers.

"This is so stupid! Why did you even bring me here?"

"To talk to you, somewhere where you wouldn't be able to just run away from."

"That's not very legal, you know!"

"If you've noticed, I don't really abide by many laws. I'm sure they'll lock me away forever for wanting to talk to a girl, and just forget about the criminal organization I was placed at the head of," as he was speaking he had been taking steps closer to Touko, to try and get her to listen. At this point, he was standing directly above her, and she was being forced to glare up at his eyes.

"I suppose if you're going to talk, you should get it done," she spit out with as much venom as she could, despite feeling nervous with him hovering above her. She'd shown him her fearlessness time and time again.

"Did you read my letter?"

"I read your stupid letter."

"Have you considered the offer?"

"I don't know what you want me to do," she spun around to throw her arm up, gesturing to all the pokemon around the area, "these pokemon are already here, already safe! What more do you want from me, N?"

"Touko, listen . . ." he sighed between his words, clearly trying to collect himself. "I need help saving pokemon to bring them here. I can only think of one person to help me do this." he spoke, and looked for her eyes. They showed rage instead of the understand he was looking for.

"Last time you 'saved' pokemon, you stole them!"

"Touko, I know that. We both do. That's why I need you! To show me how to help, instead of hurt! To tell me when there is hurt, instead of the love some people have for their pokemon!" he said, and as he spoke, a small Fletchling flew up to Touko. It hovered for a moment until she held out her hand for the bird to land. Upon inspection, she noticed the tiny pokemon had been beaten, it's eye was badly injured and it's feathers looked as though they shouldn't have even been on this pokemon. N looked a tad surprised.

"You see, Touko. You're special. That fletchling wouldn't even approach me . . ." he murmured his last few words, but looked down at her again. The bird tweeted out a few notes, and for the first time since N had met the tiny creature, it seemed happy instead of miserable.

"Ah . . . that makes sense, Touko. Do you have any idea what she might have said?"

"Well . . . I um, she seems happy. And it seems she hasn't been happy for a very long time. I'm guessing I reminded her of something happy, and that's why she came to me instead," as she spoke, N's eyes widened with surprise, then softened with understanding.

"Touko, you're perfect . . . she told us that you reminded her of her old trainer's child. The child would always care for her once the trainer had abused her, until eventually the trainer left on her own journey, without her . . ." he seemed to be almost in tears at this point, "you have something I don't. You understand the emotions of pokemon, when I can merely understand what they say. You've a gift, Touko."

"I guess so . . ." she had to admit that the tiny bird had diffused the situation quite a bit. She couldn't feel angry with such a delicate creature at her hand. How could anyone?

"Will you consider helping me, Touko?" he asked on last time, and with no words, he finally got the answer he wanted with her small and delicate nod.

"I want to keep this pokemon. She's about the same level as my team, and I refuse to leave her without someone any longer," as she spoke, N nodded in agreement, "now, I need you to take me back where you found me . . ." and then, N stopped nodding.


	4. Chapter 4: Glitter

"What do you mean I can't go back yet, N? I want to continue my adventure!" she was shouting at him again, and N cringed slightly as the pokemon around him were clearly on-edge.

"I don't feel like you'll actually cooperate with me. I want you to stay until I know you're on my side."

"I already said yes! You're not going to make friends by kidnapping someone and never letting them go. Put me back where you found me," and as Touko spoke, her eyes met N's, and the hint of pleading mixed in with those pretty blue eyes finally weakened his stubborn determination.

He lifted a hand, and after a moment or two of a pause, Reshiram reappeared.

"Reshiram, I trust you know where we're going?" he asked, and after a guttural noise echoed from the pokemon, N helped Touko onto the back of his pokemon.

"Much more comfortable of a ride, this time . . ." Touko murmured, once they were in the sky. N pretended to ignore it, and simply looked on at the landscapes below. For the first time, Touko got a very good look at most of Kalos. It was a huge place, though up here it felt much smaller than Unova.

After a moment or two of thought, she realized that her Swoobat could never fly up as high as this mighty white dragon could, and from her current perspective, everything was small.

"Hang on, we're going to go a little lower, I want you to see something." N spoke in a low tone, which Touko found difficult to hear. It wasn't as if they were going very fast, at least not yet, and she didn't understand the quietness of N's tone.

Before they dipped down, however, Touko put it together. He wasn't talking to her at all. He was talking to Reshiram, a pokemon who seemed to be much better with the senses of sight and hearing than Touko could ever be. In the moments before that blood-curdling drop, Touko had several questions raise in her mind. What could N want to show them?

Most importantly, why did Reshiram drop so fast? A startled shout escaped Touko's lips very shortly before she felt her ears pop, and despite her curiosity of what she was about to see, she dared not open her eyes until she knew they were to a full stop.

"Touko, you can let go now, we still have a little way to go. Reshiram just wanted to have some fun while we were all willingly flying together. Touko did as she was told, and as she allowed her eyes to peer open, she realized she'd clung onto N as they fell. She tried to collect herself quickly and retain her typical cool attitude, but fear made her want to hold onto the body in front of her, considering how sure of himself he was. It was much easier to fly on Swoobat, your own pokemon, whose sudden movements were at the very least predictable. Not to mention not terrifying.

"I'm sorry, Touko, I should have told you about Reshiram's flying habits. You'll get used to it, I promise." he spoke, again in a low tone, which was just as hard to hear as last time.

Before landing, Touko took note of a town near where they were going. She didn't see much more than the pokemon center and a large white building, but it was enough for her to know people could see her. Shortly after, they made their way to a cave. The landing was much smoother than the ride, and it Touko quite a while to be able to stand and walk properly. A small sign in front of the entrance read 'Glittering Cave', something Touko knew nothing about.

"In here, is an organization quite like Team Plasma." N spoke in a hushed tone. Touko glared at him.

"And what makes you think I would ever want something to do with another group of idiotic criminals?" she spit out, making sure she still sounded angry through her whispers.

"The fact that you're the only one who can stop them, for one. They're a pretty big thing. They have members pay their way in, so you know as well as I do that they're corrupt . . ." he murmured to her, trying to peer inside to see if they had any visitors.

"Just how do you know all this, N?" she asked, looking at him instead of the cave.

"Once Reshiram and I discovered you were here, I tried to find out why you may have chosen this place. It didn't take long to unearth Team Flare, since they offered me a membership once they learned I was with a powerful pokemon."

"Then you promptly said no, correct?" Touko burned into him with an impatient glare as she spoke, somewhat disgusted at what he was hinting at.

"I asked them to let me think about it. They told me to meet them here if I was interested, which is the other part of why I wanted to find you. If I join, we could take them down together from the inside. If not, I could simply fight them with you, head on." for the first time since they arrived, N's attention switched from the cave, to Touko.

"I want nothing to do with this team!" she shouted, then realized she was meant to be whispering. Her loud echo sounded throughout the cave, and she cringed when she heard her own words repeated back to her several times. Chaos soon followed, as N took her hand and ran her straight into the cave. His firm grip didn't give her much option but to follow, though at the rate in which he ran was difficult to keep up with.

"N, where are we going?" she asked, and at the word 'we', N released her hand, trusting her to continue to follow.

"You chose a head on approach. Quite like you did with Team Plasma. Respectable," he said between breaths. It was clear he didn't run often, though it didn't seem as though he was out of shape. Touko wasn't sure if his lack of breath was from fear or from the run. She didn't have much time to argue with him, or to decipher his breathing methods, as they ran into a red-themed character who was running in their direction. An obvious member of this new 'Team Flare'.

He pulled out a device which he seemed to use to call someone, and Touko only made out the words, 'call Hans, green boy is back, and he's brought trouble'. He was a tall, lanky fellow, who was somehow both taller and skinnier than N. Beneath what Touko determined was a wig, he had dark hair, which stuck out a little more than it needed to. A quick flash revealed that his pokemon of choice was a houndour.

N looked at the dog pokemon for a long time, before sending out a pokemon of his own. Touko was surprised, since they'd left Reshiram outside the cave. The pokemon he sent was a pokemon she recognized, a Carracosta she had a hard time defeating in the past. The red-themed trainer seemed to understand how much of a disadvantage he was at, and instead of putting up a fight, he withdrew his pokemon.

"You two are really going to just storm through here?

"That seems to be the case. You don't seem to have the means to stop us.

"I'll admit to that one. So, what are you planning? Our base isn't here, you know, and there isn't much for you at the end of this cave," the lanky man had seemed all but bored at this point, but the fact that a battle wasn't going on put Touko at some ease.

"Do you think we're here because we want to be? I was going to just come and give you a simple no, but Touko here opened her big mouth, and then we ran into you. Your actions proved to me that your group is hostile. You've given me all the proof I need to see that I need to take your team down. Touko agrees, right?" and for the first time since they'd gotten there, N flashed her one of his goofy grins. It was odd to see him switch emotions so quickly- from angry and bold, right back to being a dork.

"Well, I didn't say all that, but I do know that I don't enjoy the thought of another criminal organization . . ." she started, but the male she didn't know shot her a glare that cut her off.

"You're not quite aware of what you're up against. But go ahead, I'm not able to stop you. My backup, however, will be able to. I wish you the best of luck.

Without another word, N glared him down, and took Touko's hand back into his to begin running again. After that, a few more encounters with Team Flare went similar to the first. Team Flare was somewhat smarter than Touko thought they'd be, but she could hardly pay attention to that. The cave they were in was beautiful, for the first time Touko noticed green crystals lining the cave. Blue, glowing plants were also scattered about, and the combination of the two lit up the entire cave in a mystical way, that reminded Touko vaguely of chargestone cave. Though, it lacked the irritating maze-like structures.

While they were there, Touko took the time to train Bulbasaur up a bit. N seemed to like the tiny grass pokemon, and vise-versa. They both knew trouble was coming their way, but for one odd reason or another it didn't seem to matter right now. They enjoyed waiting for the problem to come, but after a few minutes of training, they decided to at least go toward the entrance.

What they found there, though, was near mortifying. A large, bulky man was there, and under his heel was the mouth of a tiny pokemon, the namely Mawile. With a quick look to N, Touko's fears were easily confirmed. Not only was the pokemon in severe pain, but N was ready to kill the man.

With a running start, N tackled the man. He didn't move very far, considering their sizes, but it was enough to get him off. While Touko heard them shouting, she picked up the tiny Mawile, and used one of her potions on the wound the man's heel caused. It didn't help much, but it was enough for her to see relief in her round eyes, even if they were farther away from the large jaws.

When she looked back up, she saw N's Carracosta facing off against a Toxicroak. N's face was bleeding a bit, but anger was still showing in his eyes, tinted a shining green by the nearby green crystal.


	5. Chapter 5: Cold Water

**_A quick authors note:_ **Hey I got dumped, so while I was grieving I didn't quite write a whole lot, sorry! But here you go! Thanks for reading guys!

* * *

Despite N being a seasoned trainer, this Hans fellow proved to be a worthy challenger. It was a much longer battle than Touko expected it to be, seeing as she was pretty sure Carracosta knew a ground type move or two. It took her a while to figure out he may be stalling to hear what his pokemon were saying. With that acknowledged, she took a good look at the pokemon, as Mawile sat in her lap.

It kept bounding away from attacks, and when ordered to deal one out, it was plain and easy to see it wasn't fighting to it's full potential. It seemed to only be giving a half-effort, as if it only half wanted to fight. It seemed almost sad to be there, and Touko gathered all of that without words or language.

With one last Aqua tail, the Toxicroak went down. The trainer stared N down for a long time, before walking up to him to meet him face-to-face. They glared at each other for a long time before Hans said something Touko could not make out by the sound, but by the looks of it he said "This isn't over" and stormed off.

N returned to Touko with a disgusted look on his face. No other words were spoken, by him, by the fleeing trainer, none. It was a silent and almost awkward trip out of the cave. Touko and N traveled slower, as to let the Flare member escape.

The tiny mawile had trailed behind, and once they got out of the cave, it hugged on to N's leg. It was a touching to see N lean down to seemingly speak with the pokemon, and it looked to Touko that the little pokemon was much happier than before, even after she'd helped her and tried to keep her calm.

"She said she wants to come with me . . . for me to make her as strong as my team, and to help us on our journey." he said, trying to smile while he patted her head. What looked like tears lined N's cheeks, and it caused a worried smile to crease Touko's lips.

"Are you okay, N? I know that was a lot, but-"

"His pokemon wanted me to kill it."

"-it isn't that . . . oh. Did it say why?"

"It was stolen. Forced into evolution, and beaten into strength. It had been with it's trainer all it's life, and loved that trainer as much as a pokemon could ever love another. It wanted to die." he spoke flat, while looking down as more tears trickled. Touko knew it didn't take much to bring N to tears, and such sad news from a pokemon was more than enough to force him over an edge.

"N, I'm so . . . sorry. Come here," she said, with her arms opened for a hug. The hug was awkward with their opposing heights, but it made Touko feel a little better, if nothing else. She took her sleeve and wiped some salty tears from his face, and showed him a smile. It took him a long second to show one back.

"Thank you, Touko, but . . . I hope you understand now why this is a personal matter. I don't think we should travel together anymore," and as he spoke, his gaze shifted back to the ground.

"Wait- one minute you want to save the world with me, and now you don't want me to come with you? N, no. I'm going to come with you, and we'll see this team destroyed!" she nearly yelled, her cheeks becoming tinted red with anger. It was then that N looked up, smiling brightly. His mood did a complete three sixty.

"I knew I could get you to agree." he said, beaming somewhat. Though a tear or two still trickled, his face was brighter. She'd fallen for a half-trap.

"N, you mean- hey! That's not fair and you know it!" she said, accenting the not, and shooting him a glare. He wrapped his arms around her again for another hug, which made her soften rather quickly.

It didn't take her long to get used to the bumpy Reshiram-Rollercoaster this time, and with a few encouraging glances backward, N made her feel like she was having fun. Since N refused to carry any more pokeballs on him since his loss in Unova, he allowed the small pokemon to cling onto his lap during the ride. Before Touko could even start to truly enjoy herself, Campriher Town was already below them. She hugged onto N's chest, until she heard him say something, almost under his breath.

"Loosen your grip just a little, alright?" and without thinking, she had almost let her grip go entirely. The second N felt her grip loosen, he put one arm around his Mawile, and Reshiram did a complete corkscrew in the air, leaving Touko to lose her grip entirely, and fall off the back of the Reshiram.

The next second or two was filled with confusion, and possible shock. She was falling. The falling felt like it lasted for almost an hour, but then she felt a huge splash, and it woke her up from her time-warped state. After a second of flailing in what she realized was semi-shallow water, she looked up to see N. Through darkened brown hair and a soaked white shirt, she gave him the dirtiest glare she could humanly muster.

"I'll come back for you, my brunette princess. But I do want to go and hunt that Hans guy down, first. I'd like to teach him another lesson," and before Touko could all but scream her rage to him, he and his legendary dragon were gone in a white blur.

She was left with soaked clothing, as well as a bad taste of irritation stuck in her mouth. After crawling out and doing whatever she could to dry off, she hobbled to the pokemon center to ask the Nurse if she could wash her clothes.

"Ah, did you fall into the water by the Day Care Center, dear?" the pink hair woman inquired, while she handed Touko a temporary change of clothes.

"Um, no. I sort of . . . fell into the fountain, I suppose," she half-lied, not wishing to explain the entirety of her cut-up adventure thus far.

"Ha! That, now that is a new one. You see, a lot of people come here because they were trying to peep into the Day Care from the back, and . . . where are you going?"

"I don't want to hear about that! I'll be around back, training, thank you!"

Once the doors had opened and fazed shut, she made her way to the purple flowers near the center. This had been where she met her pancham, and decided this would now be where she trained him, and all her other pokemon, beside Bud. Bud understood he had already gotten a lot of extra experience, and settles for very simply sunbathing while the other pokemon and their trainer worked.

For right then, and possibly only right then, Touko felt as if she were back on her first adventure. Working for the levels, laughing and having fun with her tiny pokemon. Happy, yet frustrated all at once, even if her frustrations weren't about the difficulty of the grind. Kalos, if nothing else, had made her feel like she had finally got her chance at starting over.


	6. Chapter 6: Thief

It wasn't a long to Ambrette Town, apart from the infestation of trainers. On the way, Touko spotted a white pokemon, in which her pokedex labeled 'Absol', and it mentioned that it only appeared before people to warn them of impending danger. The second she stopped to look at it, she was caught off guard, and found herself nearly falling down to the beach below her.

With a glare into the direction of the white pokemon, she learned it decided not to stick around for her fall. She went to turn, and thought she saw it bounding off quite like a Deerling would into the forest. Except, she didn't know where the absol was going, considering it seemed to jump straight into the mountains.

Ambrette Town was a million times more familiar than she wanted it to be. In the brief moments she saw this town from Glittering Cave, which made her curious as to if the cave had changed at all.

That curiosity drove her all the way back to the cave in which seemed like less than half the walk she just endured. Despite it being harder, being that she had to learn how to not only ride a rhyhorn, but control where it took her as well.

After many trial and error attempts, the mouth of the cave greeted her, and she silently wished her Swoobat was on her team. She wasn't looking forward to that long walk back to the pokemon center, not even a little. She looked for a while at the dark cave mouth, peering hard to see any signs of the light she knew was inside.

She let her Zoura out from it's ball, seeing her tiny pokemon shake to ruffle it's fur out to it's normal state. As she walked, she talked to her Zoura, happy that it always seemed to have some sort of reply.

"Harmony. Why do you think he put you in my care?" she mused, and the tiny fox yelped, and seemed to smile.

"You certainly seem to have come willingly. I just don't quite understand him, I suppose," and with not much more to say, she found the very spot where Carracosta and Toxicroak battled it out. She thought, for a long while, on what she learned.

Toxicroak had wanted to die, not just be released, but to die. What could cause that in any living being? Were it's weakened attacks due to some sort of depression? Would it carry out it's wish, before either her or N could save it?

She sat down after a long while, puzzled and upset, and curled up in a corner of the cave. A green light lit up her face, and her thoughts were drizzled with memories of N, memories of home, and memories of this new place. As her thoughts wandered, she decided not to stay long in Ambrette, and continue right away for the next town. That was one of the last thoughts she had before she drifted into a sleep, her Zoura curled tightly into her lap.

Upon waking up, she heard what sounded like something large landing on the cave rooftop right above her. Bits of rocks and dust fell to her and made her sneeze, which alarmed Harmony. Despite her initial thoughts of N, she was beyond alarmed, and picked Zoura up by the stomach and ran, ran as far as she could into the cave.

Once there, she hid herself, so that if someone came from behind, she could see them, but if need be, she could hide back behind her safe spot. She waited there for what felt like an eternity, until she heard a crash. Zoura trembled in her arms, and she realized it was unfair to keep her there. Once her pokemon was safe inside her pokeball, she listened closely to the sounds of the cave. Only footsteps echoed through, and with each sound, she grew more powerfully wary.

After a while of waiting, she lost her patience, and when she came out from her hiding spot all she saw was what looked like a man dressed in bright red, far away. The same bright red as the team flare outfit. Rage bubbled in her, and she made her way toward the figure, her hands gliding across her pokeballs to pick which team member would get to help her defeat this person.

Once upon eachother, however, Touko was a bit disappointed. The guy seemed as though he was a bit younger than her, and upon seeing her, his eyes lit up like candles, visible even when dimly lit.

"H'lo!" he spoke, loud, a smile beaming. He didn't even reach for a pokeball, even though Touko had picked out Skitty to fight with.

"Er, hello. Team Flare, is it?" she asked, glaring at him through squinted eyes, trying to learn what she could about him.

"Yep! Is a good team, why, heff you considered join'n? Me 'n me brother Hans, we get in for the free, you know? We put in good word for pretty lady in cave!"

"No! I hate Hans, and I hate Team Flare even more!" she shouted, and heard herself echo back to her, and while she ignored how stupid she sounded, she threw her pokeball to the ground, releasing her Skitty. The young man seemed puzzled.

"Why you heff to be mad? Is only a Team. We want to save the world or somefin'. Never bad! I show you, we heff strong pokemon, too." he said, while dim-wittedly searching his pocket for a pokeball. Once found, he released an Electrike, which shook a tad bit to release sparks from it's fur.

"They aren't just pokemon! They're friends, and you people have been stealing friends from people to fight for something stupid! It's all corrupt, don't you see?"

"Eh, small girl, I do not know what all it is that you mean. My pokemon, it is not of the stolen type, are ye now Zap?" and when asked, his Electrike seemed to jump around while sparks flew everywhere, making her skitty do a bit of a dance to avoid them.

"Just because you're a good member doesn't make them right! I've seen what they're doing, and, and me and N are going to take you guys down!" she said, while her hands shook. She knew she was wrong, challenging the whole team before she knew quite what was going on.

"Look, I do not wish to fight pretty girl in cave. Nor does Zap, da?" his pokemon nodded it's agreement, and was put away, "I do wish to make things right with the girl in the cave. Could you tell me pretty girls name, so I may stop calling her this?" he asked, and it was still easy to see his big brown eyes. Touko sighed.

"I'm Touko . . . Champion of Unova, and Rookie trainer of Kalos. Who are you?" she asked, as her pokemon was returned to her ball.

"Ohhh . . ." the male stopped and shifted his weight uncomfortably, "so you're ta one, ten? Now I heff to make call. You excuse me, I come back, we then talk, a'right?" he asked, and that in itself made Touko nervous. He moved past her, and far enough away for Touko to lose track of what she heard him saying, but close enough to barely be seen.

Moments later, he returned to her, smile on his face again.

"I learn thing, you no heff to worry! Hans, he apologize for making you angry, he leaff you alone, eh? No problem heff to be had. You and I, we become friends, yes? I change your mind, you no heff to be mad." he was smiling the entire time, but Touko gave him a cross look.

Despite her better judgement, though, her and this guy talked for quite a long time in Glittering Cave. She learned that his accent was because he was adopted from a village up north, much much further north than Touko had ever been. She learned that him and Hans didn't always get along, but that he looked up to Hans more than anyone, because he wants to be as determined. She learned his name was Ivan.

By the time she was done learning so many things, she knew he learned just as much. Like how her favorite pokemon type was somewhere between dragon, flying, and water, because she really loved how pokemon of those types handled themselves. He learned that her favorite color was not actually pink. He learned that she hated Chargestone Cave, not because it was a cave, but because all the electricity made her really uncomfortable, and there were a large amount of Joltik who constantly gave her trouble.

After all that time spent talking, they finally decided to leave the cave. The sunlight was bright, and it only just now occurred to Touko: what was that loud sound of something landing on the cave earlier?

She gave a quick look around, but saw no one. She turned her back to her new friend to try and see if she could spot something on the top of the cave, possibly a familiar white shape . . . but there was no sign of what she hoped for.

A sigh escaped her, and she found herself wishing Ivan was N instead. She didn't get to talk to N this way, not yet. She was lost in thought for so long, that she didn't hear the person walk up behind her.

"Good job, Ivan, very good job . . ." a husky, familiar voice called from behind. Touko never felt herself spin around so quickly.

"Hans," she went to shout, but by now he was right up upon her, towering over her. She glared at him, learned that his eyes were very dark brown, and that his breath smelled as bad as the rest of him.

"Ivan, I always knew you had it in you, getting me this piece of meat, so I could lure green-haired fuck back here," he spoke, and as soon as she realized what he meant, he spun her around to see Ivan, while he held both arms behind her back, twisted painfully.

"'Ans? What the bloody heck do you think you might be doin'? I tell you I wanna set things right with a girl, and ye go grabbin' 'er for me! Stop this nonsense, could you?" he spoke harshly, trying not to look at Touko, but instead up at Hans.

"Why do you care? You seem afraid, but you're in no danger, little brother." he said with a wry smile, and gave Touko a push on her twisted arms. She yelped, cursed, and struggled against him as she could. Then, the side of her head began to ring with pain, after he'd hit her with the back of his palm.

All she could do was look at Ivan, who's face was wrought with anger and terror. It dawned on him, what exactly he had done. Touko couldn't decide who she was angry with, Ivan, or the one holding her. She decided she hated them both rather quickly.

Out of fury and frustration, Touko closed her eyes to try and think out what to do in this situation. It all happened so fast, and she knew she couldn't lose his grip long enough to release a pokeball. All but one was attached securely to her belt, except for the one in her pocket.

In the midst of her thoughts, she thought she heard the sound of Reshiram's huge generator tail from above. She only got a second to look up, before the huge pokemon grabbed her captor by the arms, and flew into the sky with him. Once released, she flew forward onto the ground, almost knocking into Ivan on her way down.

With not much care for her battered arms and legs, she scanned into the sky to see what was going on.

"Small girl! Your green friend, you get him off mine brother!" Ivan shouted, and even from how high up they were, Touko heard some of what N was saying.

"Your pokeballs! Give them all to me, or so help me I will not be against having Reshiram drop you! Do you want that, tough guy, you want to get dropped? Do you see the ground? I can't promise we'll catch you, either! I've got half a mind to do it either way, what with you putting your hands on Touko that way!" he was screaming, and the sound wasn't familiar to Touko. She wasn't used to hearing pure rage bubble out of her docile friend. Something seemed to have snapped.

After a short while longer of yelling, Reshiram came down to the ground, his landing not quite soft, and Hans was released from the dragon's grip.

"Stealing from a thief is still stealing, runt. I'll have your head for this, just you wait. Your pathetic dragon will be nothing but toast when I'm done with this world," he sneered, and Reshiram's response was to let out a fireball to singe his wig. A few more curses were muttered, before Hans stomped off, leaving Ivan behind.

A death glare from N was enough to make Ivan shrink, but not withdrawal. Touko was too busy trying to figure out where all she was bleeding, and all she counted was a tiny bit on her head, and some on her elbows were she landed. Hans must have been wearing something sharp on his hands to make her bleed like that.

"Look, green boy, I no like to say this, but I thank you. Hans . . . I not know he was bully. I not know he hurt pretty lady in cave. Wanted make things right . . . Ivan made things much worse for you and Touko both. I sorry."

"Is your pokemon stolen, too?" he asked through glaring eyes.

"No, sir. Zap is life long friend. I show you Zap, you no have to trust my word," this time, his pokeball hunt went much quicker, and Zap seemed just as happy as the first time she'd seen him. N got down to the pokemon's level, and looked it in the eye. It did a small dance for him, and N reacted kindly to it even as the small sparks it made seemed to hurt his hand.

"Alright, Ivan. I need you to answer a few questions with me. Walk with us for a while, I think Touko here could use some bandages, and I think I need a place to rest, too." he spoke, and began out of the area, "now tell me, do you have a dream?"


	7. Chapter 7: Happy Birthday

Traveling back to Ambrette Town went much smoother this time around, with traveling partners. Ivan and N became rather fast friends, when Ivan started rattling on in broken English about his dreams, and his life. Turns out, he loves pokemon too, and joined this team because he was promised that it was to make a beautiful world. There wasn't much explanation to that, but when he imagined a beautiful world, he pictured much happier lives for pokemon, and much, much easier lives for people who are struggling.

They talked so much to each other, that Touko ended up falling quiet to listen to their conversation.

"Is actually going to be mine Mama's day of birth here soon, I wish to write her and tell her many thing of mine adventure," he spoke, using his hands to speak, almost more than his words. "Mine'll be right after 'ers. When I say mom, by the way, I mean the adoptive one. She said one time that I was a gift, and I only showed up somewhat late," and by this time he was grinning, "when were you folks born? I would hate for this story to be all about me!"

"Mine is the twentieth of June. You guys barely missed mine, I showed up to Kalos just a week after the party. What about yours, N?" she asked him, looking to his back for an answer. All she saw was a shrug of his shoulders.

"I guess Ghetsis decided I didn't need one," he said plainly, not looking back at all. A quick glance to Ivan revealed that he was somewhat concerned too.

With a quick pull on his sleeve, and a few whispered words, a plan was made between Touko and Ivan. N hardly even seemed to notice, with how far ahead he was trying to walk.

"I'd have Reshiram fly us, but I don't want to push and order for three people to be carried. I'd like to stop at the pokemon center and see how this Toxicroak is faring, and if he'd like to stay with us, or go off on his own. You guys don't have to stick around while I do that, if you wish," the tone in which he spoke was flat, and seemingly focused. Ivan and Touko exchanged a glance and a nod, and knew exactly what they'd be doing with their free time.

Once they had arrived at the center, Touko only stayed long enough to see Toxicroak let out, and if N was okay with being alone. Afterwards, she rushed out to meet Ivan, who had already managed to buy birthday hats.

"Why did you get so many, though?"

"Silly girl did not think Ivan would forget green boy's love of his pokemon, did you?"

N was in a much less happy situation. Sitting with Toxicroak, he learned more and more about the troubles this pokemon had faced. What felt like hours they sat together, with N only listening while the pokemon croaked out it's woes of the world. The nurse seemed bothered by this, but deemed something had been wrong in the head with poor N, and ignored them entirely.

It wasn't until N had heard almost every story Toxicroak had to tell until Touko and Ivan returned.

"Well, I know what we need to do first, I think- . . . guys?" he was cut off when he saw that Touko had been wearing a pointed hat he didn't recognize, and Ivan was wearing the same, but also holding a cake in his hands.

"It is a party we are throwing you! Since you do not know your day of birth, we give it to you now, you enjoy this, yes?"

"I don't really-" but he was cut off again by Touko walking right up to him. With a bright smile she hooked her arm into his, tugging on him for him to stand.

"Come on N, this is the kind of stuff friends do!" she spoke, and what resistance N had in him faded almost immediately.

"Alright, alright, but just long enough for the cake, okay? And . . . maybe this isn't the place to do it," when he stood, he looked to Toxicroak and gestured with his head. For the first time since they'd met, N got to hear Toxicroak do a famous cackle- one of amusement and happiness, not one just for show.

A quick check in to the hotel assured that their party was, indeed, on. Every pokemon was released from their ball, and each and every pokemon was given a special snack and hat to go along with. It was loud, obnoxious, cramped, and in the back of the room hung a very small banner reading, 'Happy Birthday'. It was the best Touko and Ivan could do, even with their money pitched together.

Despite it's flaws, a party was indeed held. Even with how serious the situation had grown for N, he seemed to be having quite a bit of fun. The pokemon seemed to love it even more than him though, as for the first time in what felt like forever they'd all been in the same room. Without rigorous training, anyhow.

"Alright, alright, is time for gifts, alright? Me and pretty lady," with those words N shot his new friend a glare, "we pick out gifts. We not tell each other what the gift is, is surprise to everyone, yes?" his words came out proud, though with his usual poor grammar. With that much said, he pulled out a small box, and presented it to N.

It surprised Touko how adeptly N had gotten the box open. She remembered Ivan taking at least four minutes to prepare all the tape for it, so that it would take him, 'four million year' to get into. That way her gift idea wouldn't seem so bad.

On the inside, a doll was revealed, painted as a pokemon. It seemed to be an awkwardly shaped Sylveon doll, formed into a circle that Touko couldn't quite make sense of.

"Ah, you not know of this type of doll, I see. In the middle, you see line correct? Open doll," he spoke, eyes bright, while he leaned in towards N. Once N figured out how to properly open it, inside was another doll, only slightly smaller, and it was painted blue- this doll was a Glaceon. He opened it again, and there was a Leafeon. Again, and he got an Umbreon. Once more, and an Espeon. He continued to open the doll, getting somewhat frantically at this point, hardly even looking at the Flareon, the Jolteon, and the Vaporeon, as curiosity overwhelmed him as to what would be at the end.

The last, and tiniest doll, was a small brown one, with intricate little details hand-painted on. He stared at this one the longest, looking for a small slit to open, and then looked to Ivan in confusion.

"What now?" he asked, puzzled.

"Now, you put it together again, and you keep it. Mine mother worked very hard to paint those designs on, you take good care of it. I only have two more, but I think green man deserved a good first gift, eh?"

"I don't quite understand, but . . . thank you, I suppose," and with that, his eyes fluttered over to Touko. She had no box in her hand, and he quickly assumed they weren't close enough of friends for her to get him a gift. A moment of sadness struck him, right up until Touko planted a kiss onto his cheek.

"That's all I could get you, sadly, since we ran out of money once it came to gifts," she noticed how red N had gotten and smirked, "but is that alright for now, until I can get you something better?" and to that, N nodded his approval.

"Friends?" he asked her, his eyes resembling that of a puppy's.

"Friends." she replied, and it seemed to her that her gift was more than enough to make N happy.

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Author's note:

Well guys this is not only late but it's short. While I apologize, I ask you to understand that my own birthday is quickly approaching, with lots of responsibilities to come with it. By that I mean, lots of stress got to me this week and writing came sort of slow. I promise to make it up to you, my loving readers, and I hope you enjoy.

On that note... I'd like to say happy birthday to the best friend, editor, and silly I have. You're honestly one of the best people in my life, and I hope this counts as a temporary gift until I can get you a real one.

* * *

Editor's note:

I adore the author.


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